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Insights on Diversity and Inclusion from Reflective Experiences of Distinct Pathways to and through Engineering Education

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Conference

2018 CoNECD - The Collaborative Network for Engineering and Computing Diversity Conference

Location

Crystal City, Virginia

Publication Date

April 29, 2018

Start Date

April 29, 2018

End Date

May 2, 2018

Conference Session

Undergraduate Education Track - Technical Session I

Tagged Topics

Diversity and Undergraduate Education

Page Count

12

DOI

10.18260/1-2--29548

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/29548

Download Count

271

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Paper Authors

biography

Ann F. McKenna Arizona State University

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Dr. Ann F. McKenna is a Professor of Engineering and Director of the Polytechnic School in the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University. Prior to joining ASU, she served as a program director at the National Science Foundation in the Division of Undergraduate Education. She received her B.S. and M.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Drexel University and Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley. Her research focuses on design and innovation, entrepreneurial thinking, mentorship approaches of engineering faculty, and she is particularly interested in how to scale and sustain educational innovations to help tell the story of impact.

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biography

Medha Dalal Arizona State University Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0001-5705-1800

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Medha Dalal is currently a doctoral student in the Learning, Literacies and Technologies program at Arizona State University. She received her master’s degree in Computer Science from NYU-Poly. Medha has worked as an instructional designer/research assistant at the Engineering Research Center for Bio-mediated and Bio-inspired Geotechnics. Prior to joining the doctoral program, Medha was teaching Computer Science and Information Science classes at an engineering institute in Bangalore, India. Her research interests include interdisciplinary design collaborations, hybrid/blended learning for engineering education and pedagogy of technology integration.

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Ieshya Anderson Arizona State University

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Ieshya Anderson is Naakétł’áhí (Tohono O’odham), born for Tł’ááshchí’í. Her cheii is Naakétł’áhí and her nálí is Tódích’íi’nii. Ieshya graduated from Arizona State University, Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering, emphasis in electrical systems. She is pursuing her PhD in Engineering Education Systems and Design at Arizona State University. Ieshya also continues to work with Dr. Shawn Jordan to develop engineering design curricula for middle school students on the Navajo reservation and facilitates Dr. Jordan's STEAM Machines™ outreach camps across the Navajo Nation with the ambition to expand to Tohono O'odham Nation.

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biography

Thien Ngoc Y Ta Arizona State University

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Thien was born in Phu Yen province in Vietnam.
She started PHD program of Engineering Education Systems and Design at ASU in August in 2017.
She graduated M.S. in Mechanical Engineering at ASU in August in 2017, M.S. at Ho Chi Minh city University of Technology in 2012 and bachelor in Mechanical Engineering at Ho Chi Minh city University of Education and Technology in Vietnam in 2009. She has taught at Cao Thang technical college since 2009.

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Abstract

The topic of diversity and inclusion has been a longstanding topic of exploration within the engineering education community. There are several well-known issues such as 1) the percentage of female students remains low and unchanged for decades despite the desire to influence a change, 2) the typical demographics of engineering students, and by effect future engineering professionals, also do not reflect the demographics of society, thereby leaving out critical perspectives necessary to advance multi textured solutions to diverse needs and challenges, 3) the culture and climate of engineering can be chilly towards non-dominant groups, and 4) the curriculum itself can be enhanced to embrace inclusive pedagogies, and emphasize engineering as a profession that provides value to society . These are just a few of the many topics associated with engineering education, and diversity and inclusion. In our work, we document four distinct individual’s pathways that led to the pursuit of engineering, and reflect on how each story provides insights into how experiences and context impact decisions to persist. The stories and corresponding reflections illustrate a “systems view” of engineering education, and embody diversity from the perspective of gender, international identity, career stage, underrepresented minority status, and first-generation. We will present salient features from each pathway that connect to potential recommendations for advancing recruitment and retention efforts in engineering. We will also highlight themes across each pathway in the context of frameworks that represent the college experience, and conceptualizing value within a system.

McKenna, A. F., & Dalal, M., & Anderson, I., & Ta, T. N. Y. (2018, April), Insights on Diversity and Inclusion from Reflective Experiences of Distinct Pathways to and through Engineering Education Paper presented at 2018 CoNECD - The Collaborative Network for Engineering and Computing Diversity Conference, Crystal City, Virginia. 10.18260/1-2--29548

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